Trailer hitch



E. C. MCDANIEL TRAILER HITCH Feb. 13, 1940.

Filed Jan. 51, 1938 mnl' im 1 l ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 13, 1940 UNrrED STATES rTEuT OFFICE TRAILERHITCH Ernest C.McDaniel, Denven-Colo., assigner;l by

mesne assignments, to

Trailwagons. Incorpov rated, Denver, Colo.,'a. corporation of Colorado kApplication January 31, 1938, Serial No. 187,856

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a hitch for trailers, I

that is, a device for hitching a trailing vehicle t a pulling vehicle.The invention is particularly applicable to the type of trailerillustrated in the applicants copending application, Serial No. 167,105,led Oct. 4, 1937, of which the present application is a continuation inpart.`

The usual automobile trailer consists of a two wheeled vehicle attachedat its forward extremity to an automobile; The automobiles are ofdilTerent heights and the trailers are of different heights. The latterheights vary according to different loads in the trailer. All of theseconditions act to make it difcult to `maintain the trail- 'er levelunder all conditions. o

The principal object of this invention is to provide ra hitch mechanismwhich can be employed between any trailer and any automobile regardlessof their dierences in heights and which can be actuated to levelthetrailer under any conditions of loading.

With the usual trailer the rear extremity thereof will strike the roadwhenever the ,towing vehicle rises over a hump or other raised place inthe road. This is especially true when driving from a roadway through agutter into a lling station or garage.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hitch mechanism bymeans of which the userv can quickly and easily raise or lower the rearextremity of the trailerto prevent it from striking the road wheneveruneven surfaces are encountered.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of theinvention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and eiciency.These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention reference is hadto the accompanying drawingwhich forms a part hereof. Like numeralsrefer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout thedescription.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the automobile portion of theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view thereof illustrating the trailer portion ofthe invention.

Fig. 3 is a vertical, longitudinal section through the trailer portion.

Fig. 4 is a detail cross section taken on line 4 4, Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the device in usein the complete assembled position. y

the

Fig. 6 is a vertical section illustrating an alternateform of theinvention. I I

A typical automobile is indicated at I0 with its bumper bar at .II andthe forward portion of a traller chassis "at I2.' In applying thepreferred form of the inventionk to the trailer chassis I2, a

V-shaped bracket member I3 is secured to and projected 'forwardly fromthe chassis I2.

A curved brace arm I4 is extended upwardly y() and forwardly from thevchassis I2 over the bracket member I 3, terminating overthe forward apexthereof. A stationary tubular shaft I5 extends vertically from the bracearm I4 to the bracket member I3 upon ably mounted. o

The ball I 6 is provided with a threaded key II which extends inwardlythrough a guide slot I8 in the tubular shaft I5. The key engages threadsin a jack screw I9 journalled within the shaft I5 upon suitable bearings2Il.` f The jackscrew I9 may be rotated by hand through the medium of aWrench extremity 2| or may be rotated by means of anelectric motor 22through the medium of suitable transmission gears 23. It can be readilyseen that the vertical position of the ball IB can be readily changed byrotation of the jack screw I 9.

The automobile portion of thedevice comprises a bumper plate 24 arrangedto be clamped to the bumperbar II by means ofa clamping plate 25 andclamping bolts 2G. The plate 24 supports a ball socket member 27 in theface l.of whichris a heini-spherical concavity 28 for receiving the ballI6. The ball is clamped in place in the concavity by means of a clampingmember 29 which is hinged to the member 2l upon a suitble hinge pin 30and which contains a corresponding hemispherical concavity for engagingthe ball. The clamping member 2S is clamped about the ball through themedium of a clamp screw 3I and a clamp nut 32. When the ball is clampedin place, as shown in Fig. 5, it is free to move in every direction sothat vided. I v

It can be seen that the forward extremity of the trailer can be raised*and loweredas desired by simply rotating the jack screw I9. If theelectric motor is employed, it can be controlled from the driversposition so that when driving into a place where the rear of the trailermight strike the ground, the driver can energize the motor to force theball upwardly thereby raising the rear extremity of the trailer. Forordinary road drivat the proper elevation for level riding.

which `a ball I6 ismova universal `attachment is pro- In Fig. 6 analternate form of the invention is illustrated in which the sameprinciples of operation are involved. In this form, a tubular shaft 33is employed in place of the former shaft I5. The jack screw, however,indicated at 34, is positioned on the exterior of the shaft and isthreaded through the ball. Rotation of the screw 34 serves the samepurpose as rotation of the former screw I9. v

While a specific form of -the improvement has been described andillustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may bevaried, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

Having thus describedthe invention, what is claimed and desired securedby Letters Patent is:

1. A hitchfor securing a trailer chassis to an automobile including: abracket member projecting forward from said chassis; a brace armprojecting forwardly from said chassis above said bracket member; astationary tubular shaft extending between said bracket member and saidbrace arm and. supported` rigidly vertical thereby; a'rotatable threadedshaft extending longitudinally within said tubular shaft; a sphericalball through which said tubular shaft slidably passes; a threaded key onsaid ball extending inwardly to said threaded shaft through alongitudinal slot in. said tubular shaft; a ball socket surrounding saidball; means for securing said ball socket to an automobile; and meansfor rotating said threaded shaft.

2. A hitch for securing a trailer chassis to an automobile including: abracket member projecting forward from said chassis; a brace armprojecting forwardly from said chassis above said bracket member; astationary tubular shaft extending between said bracket member and saidbrace arm and supported rigidly vertical thereby;

$9 a rotatable threaded shaft extending longitudinally within saidtubular shaft; a spherical ball through which said tubular shaftslidably passes; a threaded key on said ball extending inwardly to saidthreaded shaft through a longitudinal slot in said tubular shaft; a ballsocket surrounding said ball; means for securing said ball socket t anautomobile; and an electric motor in said bracket member for rotatingsaid threaded shaft* 3. A hitch for securing a trailer chassis to anautomobile including: a bracket member projecting forward from saidchassis; a brace arm projecting forwardly from said chassis above saidbracket member; a stationary shaft extending between said bracket memberand said brace arms and supported rigidly vertical thereby; a rotatablethreaded shaft extending between saidl bracket member and said brace armparallel and adjacent to said stationary shaft; a spherical ball with athreaded core through which said stationary shaft and said threadedshaft pass; a ball socket surrounding said ball; means for securing saidball socket to an automobile; and means for rotating said threadedshaft.

4. A hitch for securing a trailer chassis to an automobile including: abracket member projecting forward from said chassis; a brace armprojecting forwardly from said chassis above said bracket member; astationary shaft extending between said bracket member and said bracearm and supported rigidly vertical thereby; a rotatable threaded shaftextending between said bracket member and said brace arm parallel andadjacent to said stationary shaft; a spherical ball with a threaded corethrough which said stationary shaft and said threaded shaft pass; a ballsocket surrounding said ball; means for securing said ball socket to anautomobile; and an electric motor in said bracket member for rotatingsaid threaded shaft.

ERNEST C. McDANIEL.

